The Dharma Bums by Jack Kerouac
"The Dharma Bums" is a novel by Jack Kerouac that explores the journey of self-discovery through the lens of Buddhism. The protagonist, Ray Smith, embarks on a quest for spiritual enlightenment alongside his friend Japhy Ryder, a young and accomplished Buddhist inspired by the poet Gary Snyder. The narrative captures their adventures, including mountain climbing in California and meditative retreats, as they engage with Buddhist philosophy and practice a lifestyle that emphasizes minimalism and spiritual freedom. The novel resonates particularly with the counterculture of the 1960s, who found in it themes of sexual liberation and a rejection of materialism, viewing it as a precursor to the "rucksack revolution."
Throughout the story, Smith grapples with his struggles, including heavy drinking and the challenge of maintaining a devout Buddhist lifestyle. Kerouac's writing style blends personal narrative with broader philosophical discussions, featuring moments of introspection where an omniscient narrator reflects on the complexities of identity and belief. This dual perspective provides insight into the evolution of Kerouac's thoughts on spirituality and self-examination. "The Dharma Bums" remains significant not only for its literary merit but also for its cultural impact, revealing the tensions between idealism and realism in the pursuit of meaning.
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Subject Terms
The Dharma Bums by Jack Kerouac
First published: 1958
The Work
Jack Kerouac’s The Dharma Bums, relatively upbeat and often humorous, is a fictional account of Kerouac’s attempt to unify his identity through Buddhism. The main character, Ray Smith, is accompanied on this quest by the physically and mentally agile savant Japhy Ryder (the poet Gary Snyder), a young yet accomplished Buddhist. The flower children of the 1960’s appreciated the novel’s sexual freedom and used The Dharma Bums as a guide to the “rucksack revolution” predicted by Ryder.
Dharma bums, as the name implies, roam in solitude, unencumbered by material goods, seeking instruction (dharma), taking some risks, and learning through meditation. Smith climbs a mountain in California with Ryder, meditates in the woods in North Carolina, parties in Ryder’s cabin, and finally takes over Ryder’s solitary fire lookout job in Washington State. Smith drinks excessively, but he struggles to control his appetites. He believes he practices a devout Buddhist lifestyle. His ideas, dreams, and visions express Buddhist dogma, and his friends are other dharma bums who contribute their own interpretations, expanding Smith’s own views and creating a noteworthy general discussion of Buddhist philosophy.
Another novel, Desolation Angels (1965), reveals more fully the rigorous self-examination that Kerouac conducted. The unique relevance of The Dharma Bums to literary identity, however, is enhanced by the circumstances surrounding its publication. When Kerouac wrote The Dharma Bums, a commissioned work that he never revised, his interest in Buddhism was waning. Kerouac’s change of heart complicated Ray Smith’s narrative voice. At times an omniscient narrator appears in the novel offering opinions more like those of Kerouac at the time of the novel’s writing. This narrator is identified early on when he states that he is no longer “very devout” like Smith in the novel, but rather “a little tired and cynical,” no longer persisting in the beliefs of the “perfect religious wanderer” that he once was. He bluntly recounts friends’ thoughtful criticisms of the character Smith. At times, he subtly derides his past self; at others, he openly portrays his past self as embarrassing or hypocritical, even scandalously insensitive. Though he recaptures the positive spirit of the experience to a great degree, he also feels superior to the character and tries on occasion to separate his present self from that of his past. Such narrative intrusions reveal much about how identity changes over time while only beginning to explain the complex identity of the persona who haunts and controls this narrative.
Bibliography
Amburn, Ellis. Subterranean Kerouac: The Hidden Life of Jack Kerouac. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1998. A fascinating biography by one of Kerouac’s editors, showing how his ambivalent feelings about his sexuality influenced his work. Includes detailed notes and bibliography.
Cassady, Carolyn. Heart Beat: My Life with Jack and Neal. Berkeley, Calif.: Creative Arts, 1976. Chronicles Cassady’s relationship with Kerouac from 1952 through 1953, and the ménage à trois between the Cassadys and Kerouac. Reprinted here are letters of Allen Ginsberg, Kerouac, Neal Cassady, and Carolyn Cassady.
Cassady, Carolyn. Off the Road: My Years with Cassady, Kerouac, and Ginsberg. New York: William Morrow, 1990. A personal account, with many anecdotes and recollections written from Carolyn Cassady’s perspective. Important for its inside view of the Beat movement.
Feied, Frederick. No Pie in the Sky: The Hobo as American Cultural Hero in the Works of Jack London, John Dos Passos, and Jack Kerouac. Secaucus, N.J.: Citadel Press, 1964.
Hart, John E. “Future Hero in Paradise: Kerouac’s The Dharma Bums.” Critique: Studies in Modern Fiction 14, no. 3 (1973): 52-62.
Hull, Keith N. “A Dharma Bum Goes West to Meet the East.” Western American Literature 11, no. 4 (1977): 321-329.
Nicosia, Gerald. Memory Babe: A Critical Biography of Jack Kerouac. New York: Grove Press, 1983. A comprehensive, biographical account of Kerouac’s life. Highly regarded for background information on Kerouac and the process of his writing.
Rexroth, Kenneth. “San Francisco’s Mature Bohemians.” The Nation 184 (February 23, 1957): 159-162.
Turner, Steve. Angelheaded Hipster: A Life of Jack Kerouac. New York: Viking, 1996. Not as authoritative as the Amburn, but copiously illustrated and with anecdotes that help illuminate the novels.
Tytell, John. “The Beat Generation and the Continuing American Revolution.” American Scholar 42 (Spring, 1973): 308-317.